


Ghost Apple

by wallwindow



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 23:43:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4806662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wallwindow/pseuds/wallwindow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of seven interconnected NijiAka drabbles inspired by the song titles in People In The Box's mini album "Ghost Apple." These center around Nijimura and Akashi's developing and established relationship on various days and locations.  (I also used the album name as the title of everything because I'm not creative. >>)<br/>i. Monday / Sterile Room<br/>ii. Tuesday / Empty Room<br/>iii. Wednesday / Locked Room<br/>iv. Thursday / Bedroom<br/>v. Friday / Intensive Care Unit<br/>vi. Saturday / Waiting Room<br/>vii. Sunday / Bathroom</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghost Apple

**Author's Note:**

> I'm unable to stop myself again from writing NijiAka~ Oh, woe is me! Anyway, each story is connected and happens in the same universe, but they don't necessarily happen chronologically.
> 
> /Edit: I linked each song to its corresponding title just in case anyone is interested to listen to them. ^^; Though as noted, the stories themselves are only inspired by the titles, not the lyrics itself. ^^

**~[Monday / Sterile Room](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5udy0C5UcY)~**

 

"Sei, I really think-- this idea of yours--- is a little overkill...," Nijimura attempts to form coherent sentences in between sniffs , his mouth underneath the seemingly heavy-duty face mask Akashi has forced him to wear since this morning. His head feels heavy but at the same it feels like it's floating somewhere else, Nijimura's not sure how's that supposed to be possible. His whole body doesn’t feel well too, it’s like he has just finished playing in a basketball match that went into triple overtime or something like that. Moreover, it’s as if all the liquid inside his body has just decided to migrate to his eyes and nose to stay there till eternity. Or in short, having this cold totally sucks.

When he was still living alone during his first year in the university, on the days he felt sick like this he would just usually lie and rot on his bed until he eventually got better. He hates going to the hospital, the hospital reminds him of all the sleepless days and nights he and his family have spent beside his father's hospital bed whenever his condition was failing. Nijimura thinks he has spent enough days in the hospital to last a lifetime, hence he will never visit one if there's another option present.

Akashi's another option is to transform their apartment’s guestroom into a makeshift sterile room. Akashi, earlier, has asked at least 30% of the Akashi household’s housekeepers to come to their apartment to transfer all the things, except for the bed and a small table, from the guestroom to the storage room. He also instructed them to clean and disinfect the room to the best of their ability. The guest room appears to be much wider now thanks to that (it’s already too wide), and Nijimura’s instincts tell him that Akashi changed all the pillow cover, the bed-sheet, and the blankets to white ones to give the room a legitimate clean room aura. Sometimes his boyfriend can be so excessive, seriously.

Nijimura has vehemently opposed the idea at first because he thinks it's troublesome and really, it's just a cold, or maybe flu, and if he just rests for a while he will surely recover soon. After all, he's not that weak. He eats balanced meal and exercises regularly too, it can't be that bad. But upon saying that, Akashi immediately proceeds to enumerate all kinds of allergens that might be present inside their apartment which might actually hinder Nijimura's "fast recovery". Later on, everything around Nijimura suddenly seems to be either deadly or dirty.

The redhead, also wearing a facemask, sits on the edge of the bed and looks at Nijimura's face sympathetically.

"I am aware of that, but I can't risk you being further exposed to germs and viruses. You really need to recover as soon as possible, Shuuzou. You know your siblings are expecting us this coming holiday. Cancelling the trip to Disney Sea is not an option," Akashi says in his usual “serious business” tone.

Right, it's a public holiday on Friday and they're supposed to have a date in Tokyo Disney Sea with Nijimura's siblings. He hasn't seen them in months due to the obligatory super busy schedule of a graduating university student, he misses them a lot and he knows Akashi's also excited to see them for the first time ever. Nijimura knows this much because Akashi has been very enthusiastic and keen about planning the trip—purchasing FASTPASS tickets for the four of them, booking a room in Disney Resort and so on, that Nijimura didn't have to lift a finger anymore with regards to taking care of those bothersome technical tasks. But at this rate, maybe they need to postpone after all.

"Ah, don't mind them too much, Sei," he coughs, "they won't hate us if we cancel, we can always reschedule."

Akashi's eyebrows furrow, looking as though Nijimura has just betrayed him.

"No, Shuuzou. We made a promise with them. I am aware that they have been looking forward to the trip since two months ago. I don't wish to fail them. And this is not just about the trip, I really desire for you to recuperate soon, but since you don't intend to visit the hospital or have a doctor personally come here to visit you, I guess keeping you away from harm is the best thing that we can do for now to expedite your recovery."

Nijimura wants to tease Akashi about how he's such a mother-hen until now, but the sincerity and concern in Akashi's voice stop him from doing so. Instead, he smiles. Although his lips are being hidden behind the face mask, he knows Akashi will be able to discern the smile through his eyes.

“Thanks, Sei.”

Akashi looks quite surprised at the abrupt change in the tone of Nijimura’s voice. Nijimura finds it cute, he always finds Akashi cute.

“Thanks for what exactly, Shuuzou?”

“Well, I guess for everything? Most especially for taking care of me, and loving my family as much as you love me?”

Akashi stares blankly at Nijimura for a couple of seconds, perhaps unsure of how to respond. Until realization has dawned upon him, and then he smiles back at Nijimura lovingly (despite being hidden by the face mask, Nijimura knows it's a lovely smile), “I would love to kiss you to show my appreciation too, but I wouldn’t want to catch your cold.”

Nijimura really needs to get better soon, and no, he’s not tearing up, it’s just that his eyes are currently naturally watery due to his cold.

 

**~[Tuesday / Empty Room](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoKSsjpCplo)~**

 

Akashi had been preparing for his 1st year in Tokyo University when he and Nijimura started discussing about moving in together in a nearby apartment. It has also been a year since his senpai returned from L.A. And it has been around two years since Kise took the initiative to create “Teiko’s Ikemen Group Chat” board in LINE messenger, adding all the Generation of Miracles plus Kuroko, and somehow also managed to add Nijimura in the group at some point because “he’s our rainbow senpai-ssu!” as he said. From then on Akashi and Nijimura have been keeping constant communication with each other, exchanging personal messages (and Kise sometimes would wonder why the two of them are not participating in the group discussion) and soon admitting that apparently, they have special mutual feelings for each other since middle school.

They have officially become a couple during the summer of Akashi’s third year in high school, few months after Nijimura has returned to Japan.

And now around nine months after, they find themselves together in an empty apartment, sprawled on the floor with Nijimura’s head resting idly on Akashi’s lap.

It’s the beginning of May and thankfully the weather is neither too hot nor too cold. Otherwise having no heater or air conditioner at this point would have annoyed Akashi a little.

“I think I made it perfectly clear that they should have our furniture and other things delivered by Monday since we will be moving in by Tuesday evening,” Akashi says while looking at the door in front of him passively (like he’s actually waiting for it to magically open any minute now and reveal their things), his left hand busy carding through Nijimura’s black hair.

Akashi has been doubtful about not moving into a fully-furnished apartment, but Nijimura told him that it’s more exciting to move into an empty one, so they can personally bring or buy their own furniture and arrange the place as they please. He finds it more personal and a possible memorable “moving in experience”, and well, Akashi couldn’t argue with that.

But if this isn’t anti-climactic.

“Well… it seems you’re not clear enough,” shrugs Nijimura.

Akashi has the sudden urge to pull five strands of Nijimura’s hair.

“Ouch, Akashi, you brat!”

Akashi tries his best to ignore Nijmura’s scowl.

“Well, what do you want to do now, Nijimura-san? Do you want to come with me to the Akashi manor in the meantime, or would you rather spend the night at your family’s home?”

“Aaah~ I’m too tired to take a one-hour train travel to home, and no, I wouldn’t want to go to your house too, you know I’m still not good at dealing with your old man.”

Akashi nods in understanding; he doesn’t have the energy to socialize with his father tonight, too.

“What do you suggest then, Nijimura-san? Do you want me to book a hotel room for us for tonight?”

Nijimura is silent for a while as if trying to come up with plan B. Then, he sits up and faces Akashi (who secretly finds his dishevelled hair attractive), a tiny smirk visible on his otherwise scowling face.

“I suggest we stay here! And wait until they deliver our stuff. They promised to have it here by tomorrow morning, right?”

Akashi blinks, he didn’t expect Nijimura to come up with such a simple suggestion. He looks around the apartment; it’s actually really huge (as Nijimura has repeatedly complained before) and the absence of furniture and appliances makes it appear completely bare, save for the huge luggage they brought with them today (which is full of their clothes and toiletries). There’s not even a chair for them to sit on.

“Nijimura-san, I think… that’s quite troublesome. Our kitchenware is still not here, how can we prepare our dinner?”

“Well, let’s call pizza delivery?”

“That’s quite unhealthy but alright. And how do we sleep? We don’t even have a futon here?”

This time the raven-haired flashes a full-blown grin at Akashi, and Akashi is overwhelmed at how this person’s beautiful smile can still astonish him each time he sees it.

“I can be your futon tonight, obocchan!”

“Eeh?” Akashi blinks and his cheeks start to get warm, he blames it on the radiance being exuded by the older guy’s smile.

When the night arrives, Akashi finds himself lying flat on his stomach on top of Nijimura (who is lying on the cold floor, using some of their clothes as a pillow), his face buried on his lover’s chest. It isn’t the most comfortable position, but having Nijimura’s arms encircled around him makes him believe that this is the most relaxing thing on Earth.

He thought for sure Nijimura has been joking earlier when he made the suggestion, but as they prepare to go to sleep, Nijimura’s insisting that he won’t ever let Akashi sleep on the bare floor. Akashi is too precious for that, he says.

“Is your back not hurting, Nijimura-san?”

“Hmm… a little bit, but I told you, right? I’m kinda used to this. I’d always sleep on the rooftop’s concrete floor whenever I was skipping classes back in middle school.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t lying on top of you during those times.”

Akashi feels Nijimura’s chest shake as he chuckles, “Well, I’m also used to people using me as a human futon. I mean, my siblings used to hijack my room to play with me then sleep on top of me afterwards.”

“But they’re not as heavy as me?”

Nijimura’s left hand moves from Akashi’s back and makes its way to the younger man’s head and pats it.

“You will never be heavy for me, Akashi.”

Akashi, once again, is stunned by how Nijimura can make him experience various emotions all at once. He lifts his head to look at Nijimura’s face and sees him with his eyes closed, looking unperturbed and cosy as if his back is not lying flat on the floor, on top of him a basketball player who weighs 64 kilograms. Akashi can’t help but smile at the sight.

Nijimura though gets a bit distracted by Akashi’s sudden movement; he opens one of his eyes and looks at Akashi’s face, “Hmm? Something wrong?”

Akashi shakes his head, whispers “I love you” before he shifts his body a little upwards to catch Nijimura’s lips with his own.

Nijimura looks amazed at how Akashi seems to really have an affinity for kissing him during the most random moments, but in a few seconds he’s reciprocating, his hold on Akashi’s hip tightening.

It’s their first kiss in this place, in their “new home”, and Akashi looks forward to sharing more kisses with his lover in all the possible corners of this apartment room for the days, weeks, months and years to come.

He realizes, too, that despite the apartment still being devoid of things he’s used to having, he will always be complete as long as Nijimura is with him, wrapping his arms around him and kissing him gently.

 

**~[Wednesday / Locked Room](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWjOdk8JqQQ)~**

 

“I will really make those brats run a hundred laps as soon as we get out of here!” Nijimura exclaims, fuming. He’s banging his right fist on the locker room’s door, his other hand twisting the doorknob repeatedly, and his signature scowl ten times more visible than usual.

“Nijimura-san, calm down. We can’t get out of here with your rage alone.”

Nijimura twitches at that, it seems people pointing out his short fuse somehow always strikes a nerve. He throws his glare at Akashi and pouts at him.

“Oi, Akashi! Do you have any idea why they’re locking us here??”

Akashi pauses, trying to gauge if he should really tell Nijimura what he knows, then says calmly, “I believe it was Haizaki’s idea. Today is Aomine’s birthday, and they have declared today as another version of ‘April Fool’s Day’.”

“Wait, I don’t get it! What has Aomine’s birthday gotten to do with the members locking us here???”  
  
Akashi sighs and becomes convinced that at times his captain can actually be a bit of an airhead. He must admit he finds it a little bit cute though. A little bit.

“As I’m sure you’re already aware, April Fool’s Day is celebrated every first day of April. It’s when people trick other people, or when people play pranks on one another. Meanwhile, today is the last day of August and incidentally, Aomine’s birthday as well. And because some of them think that Aomine is a basketball idiot, they decided that today should be August’s Fool’s Day. Or something to that effect.” Akashi nods to himself triumphantly; he thinks that should be enough of an explanation.

“And???”

But Nijimura still appears to be completely clueless despite Akashi’s best efforts.

To emphasize his point, Akashi stares directly at Nijimura’s sharp gray eyes, says in his grimmest voice possible, “And… they’re pulling a prank, which, unfortunately involves the two of us.”

“Huh?!?” A large vein then promptly pops out on Nijimura’s forehead, his fist clenching tighter.

“Pulling a prank on their captain and vice-captain?! Those brats surely have some guts huh?!? Especially that stupid Haizaki, I will definitely beat the crap out of him as soon as I step out of this locker room!”

If Nijimura’s blood pressure is at its highest peak now, Akashi’s aura proves to be the exact opposite. He remains calm as he stands a few feet behind Nijimura. He places his hand on his chin, as if in deep contemplation.

“I have a hunch though… that this is just an excuse to obliterate today’s practice, especially since we just had an arduous practice game yesterday. Everyone seems to be not in his proper condition yet to engage in another rigorous training. If the captain and vice-captain are locked inside the locker room together, pun not intended, nobody would be facilitating the practice and everyone is free to do as he pleases.”

Akashi’s positive that Nijimura is about to say “what about the coach?” but notices him decide against it. The captain must have realized that today is the last day of summer vacation, and the coach is still away, probably enjoying the remaining hours of his holiday with his family (the practice game yesterday was entirely entrusted to him and Akashi).

Akashi can still vividly remember how Nijimura immediately decided after yesterday’s game that they should have training the very next day since the gap in the match was rather undesirable as per Teiko’s standard. Akashi has quickly supported the idea and reiterated that they must really discuss, as soon as possible, what has transpired and how to avoid it in future official games.

When the other members groaned about it, Nijimura declared “captain’s orders” and nobody said a thing afterwards anymore. Unknown to the others, that particular scene has brought a tiny smile to Akashi’s lips. It has assured him that he’s on the right team, being lead by the right person.

“Argh those brats, really! They’re trying to test my patience huh!? I don’t know what to do with them anymore, geez!” Nijimura says that, but Akashi’s aware that Nijimura knows exactly how to deal with them.

Soon, Nijimura finally looks resigned. He walks away from the door, accepts his fate, and sits at the small bench placed in the middle of the room.

Glaring at his vice-captain, he asks, “Oi, Akashi, you seem to be perfectly aware of the situation. Why didn’t you do anything?”

“Well…”

Akashi also moves to sit beside his captain. He notes Nijimura is still scowling, he must be careful about his choice of words.

“I was merely curious if they will manage to succeed with their plans. I apologize that I didn’t foresee that they will actually decide to take action while we’re having our pre-training meeting here.”

Nijimura produces a long and heavy sigh and scratches the back of his head after hearing Akashi’s explanation.

“Geez, I don’t know what to do with you, too!”

Akashi blinks in confusion; he doubts there’s a reason for his senpai to be irritated at him too.

“Pardon, Nijimura-san?”

“You’re aware of these things but didn’t say or do anything because you’re curious; I bet you’re actually amused at the situation now, aren’t you? You’re also a brat after all. I can actually see the glint in your large red eyes right now.”

Akashi, although somewhat surprised, opts to keep his neutral face.

“If you mean I’m amused because club activities won’t seem to be happening in the next few hours, I beg to disagree, Nijimura-san. I genuinely would want to proceed with today’s practice and reflect on yesterday’s oversight.”

“No, not that, I mean, seeing your captain annoyed and defeated by your teammates.”

Nijimura doesn’t look exasperated now but the frown remains on his lips, Akashi thinks he looks like a child whose toy has been stolen from him, it’s almost endearing.

Akashi can’t help but chuckle a little, “That is also false, Nijimura-san. I would never take pleasure in seeing you infuriated and in distress. I must admit though, that seeing the usually collected and cool captain of Teiko losing his temper just because his members locked him in the locker room with his vice-captain is more than entertaining.”

His captain raises an eyebrow, it’s as if he has a retort to that, but then chooses to flick Akashi’s forehead instead, albeit with much lesser force than he used to apply to his other kouhais.

“It’s unfair that you’re the only one being entertained here. Hurry up and entertain me, vice-captain.”

Akashi, taken aback at Nijimura flicking his forehead and not knowing whether to take his captain’s last statement seriously or not, stares at the older man’s face, his eyes widening in pure disbelief, “N—Nijimura-san…?”

It’s the first time someone has ever flicked Akashi’s forehead. For some reason, even if it slightly hurts, the sensation also feels nice. Akashi wonders for a bit if he might be a masochist.

Nijimura takes in Akashi’s confusion and smirks-- no, he smiles.

“Captain’s orders.”

Akashi gulps and completely forgets about his throbbing forehead.

In the few months he has known Nijimura, today must be the first time that he’s witnessing him smiling amiably. Akashi usually watches him looking stern, oftentimes scowling, and sometimes looking smug whenever he beats Haizaki up, but at this very moment, he looks blithe and laidback. Seeing his captain’s various moods makes Akashi feel a little awed.

His subconscious also decides that serious-looking Nijimura is cool, while smiling Nijimura is cute.

The thought makes Akashi hit his own forehead mentally. Now is not the right time to be having such inappropriate opinion regarding his captain.

The first year vice-captain strengthens up from his seat, he’s not one to back away from challenges, and right now it seems Nijimura is challenging him. Now is precisely the time to prove to his captain that he deserves his position as second-in-command, that he’s capable of anything.

Akashi smiles back at his captain deviously, “Nijimura-san, I must first inform you that I am absolute, which also means I have absolutely no sense of humor. But how would you want me to entertain you, captain?”

It’s now Nijimura’s eyes turn to widen, he gapes at the redhead as the latter gets distracted by a bead of sweat crawling down his captain’s face. Akashi wants to wipe it off his face but perhaps now is not the proper moment.

Nijimura continues to stare frozen at Akashi despite the summer heat lingering in the locker room.

This in turn makes Akashi tilt his head to the right, he’s waiting for the gray-eyed captain to respond. But then Nijimura starts laughing and before Akashi knows it, his hair is already being ruffled by his senpai.

“Geez, I might just really believe that today’s a legit August’s Fool’s Day or whatever! That joke’s a good one, Akashi!”

“Oh…” Akashi wants to say he’s not actually joking (he can’t even make a joke to save his life, he admits to himself), but Nijimura messing up his hair induces warm and fuzzy feelings inside him. After all, the last time someone affectionately ruffled his hair like this is back when he was still in his fifth year in elementary. And it’s like it already happened ages ago, so now Akashi allows himself to lean into Nijimura’s touch even just for a short while.

If this is how “August’s Fool’s Day” should be spent, Akashi’s excited to celebrate it again next year.

 

**~[Thursday / Bedroom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyDb9PMsGr8)~**

 

Never in Nijimura’s wildest dream has he imagined that on a one cold winter night, he will be sharing a bed with his kouhai, his vice-captain of all people. Sure he likes Akashi as much as a senpai is allowed to like a kouhai – they get along, the kid is polite, perfect at everything he does, he can count on him about almost anything and everything, but this level of closeness… Nijimura’s far from ready.

Meanwhile, he can count on Haizaki to bring forth inconvenience to his life whenever the opportunity arises.

For this year’s Teiko Basketball Team’s winter training camp being held in Osaka, Akashi has personally volunteered to do all the planning that involves the budget, lodging, the schedule, training regime, and really, all things necessary to conduct a training camp. Nijimura has told him that he can leave all the logistics to the managers, but Akashi would insist that he can’t let such an important matter be handled by other people.

In the end, Nijimura has assisted Akashi as much as he could; otherwise he’d feel guilty and accuse himself of taking advantage of his vice-captain’s willingness to do all these things.

One week before the scheduled first day of training, as expected everything has ultimately been fixed mostly by Akashi himself—from room assignment, daily itinerary, and even the matter of who should sit beside whom in the bus to avoid ruckus on the day of departure itself has already been decided, much to Nijimura’s amusement.

And up until yesterday, Haizaki has been insisting that he wouldn’t join the training camp, says he just feels like not attending it, just as how he skips practices whenever he feels like doing so.

But this morning, the damned brat has the audacity to show his face and tell everyone that he’ll be joining in the trip because today “he’s in the mood”. Nijimura almost immediately got in the mood to beat him to death that time, but recognizes that it’s a rare chance to have Haizaki do some training. Eventually he gets contented hitting the brat’s head twice, with as much force as possible, then proceeds to ride the bus.

When he settles beside Akashi (because it’s perfectly normal for the captain and vice-captain to sit beside each other in the bus during outside-of-school trips), he notices the younger boy deep in his thoughts while holding his mobile phone. Akashi always appears to be deep in his thoughts, but he rarely creases his forehead when doing so. Nijimura’s sharp senses tell him something’s amiss.

“Something wrong, Akashi?”

“Well…”

Akashi doesn’t spare him a look (he still looks slightly troubled) but answers him articulately, “I’ve just contacted the inn we’ll be staying at. And it appears that they no longer have extra room or extra bed for another person. As you know, we did the reservations not taking into consideration Haizaki’s attendance.”

“Oh…” Nijimura has an idea if where this logic is heading.

“As you might be aware as well, for starting members, we only managed to book a 4-bed dormitory room for myself and the rest of the first years, a twin room for Kubota-san and Sekiguchi-san, and a solo bedroom for you.”

 _Perks of being a captain_ , Nijimura thinks.

Akashi continues, “The staff confirmed though, that at least one more person can stay in your room. As long as that person can fit on the bed with you.”

Hearing that makes Nijimura almost choke on his own saliva, his upper lip forming a scowl by reflex, “What the fuck, Akashi! Don’t they dare put Haizaki in the same room as me or else I might just end up being a former basketball captain turned murderer tonight!!”

And that’s the story of how Nijimura ends up lying on the same bed with Akashi tonight.

Coldness creeps into him despite the heater working properly, he doesn’t know if it’s just unusually chilly tonight, or he’s just simply anxious about being on the same bed as Akashi, sharing such a small space.

Nijimura also doesn’t know why he seems nervous lying on the same bed as Akashi, he’s the senpai, dammit.

Among the other members, only Kuroko and Akashi are big (or small) enough to fit on the bed with him, and well, with Kuroko being the newest member of the 1st string, the mere thought of sharing a room with the strict and sometimes violent captain has been enough to send him puking.

“Are you sure you’re fine with this, Akashi? I told you we can force Haizaki to sleep on the bus, it’s his fault for showing up unannounced,” Nijimura says while lying on his side, facing the door.

“I assure you, I’m fine, Nijimura-san.”

As if not hearing Akashi, Nijimura prods, “or I can sleep on the floor, I’m actually used to it.”

“I refuse. I will never let my upperclassman, especially my captain, sleep on the floor. I’d rather sleep in the bus myself than do something as unseemly as that.”

“Oi, oi, Akashi. I’m just an upperclassman, not a god or anything, geez.”

With his back facing Akashi, Nijimura is unable to see what kind of expression Akashi’s face currently possesses, but he can tell from his voice that he’s being earnest.

Akashi doesn’t say anything else after that, making an uninterrupted silence hang in the room. When Nijimura’s fairly certain that Akashi has finally fallen asleep, he shifts to lie on his back. Honestly, his side has started to ache already.

However, he doesn’t expect to see Akashi still awake, with eyes wide open as he stares at the bedroom’s ceiling.

“Oh…” Nijimura whispers. He’s about to return to his original position but then Akashi speaks up.

“Nijimura-san, please don’t pay me any mind. You can position yourself at your utmost convenience. I’m quite sure the both of us fit on this bed just fine.”

Nijimura swallows; his throat feels dry for some reason.

“Uh—okay, thanks…,” he says and finally finds a position comfortable enough without his body touching Akashi’s.

Now both of them are staring at the ceiling, and seeing Akashi on his peripheral view somehow makes Nijimura even tenser than he already is.

Another round of silence has passed when Akashi starts talking again, eyes still fixed on the ceiling as if it’s the most interesting thing on the universe right now.

“Nijimura-san.”

“Yes?”

“If I do something disgraceful while sleeping, such as snoring or talking, or if I move too much, I apologize in advance. I… actually…”

“Hmm?”

Akashi’s voice has become so soft that Nijimura worries if he suddenly doesn’t feel well. He tilts his head a little to catch a glimpse of Akashi’s face.

“It’s… rather my first time to sleep in a room with someone else. Therefore, nobody has had the chance to inform me if I have any strange sleeping habits.”

Hearing that from Akashi, in that seemingly sad voice, makes Nijimura feel like something tugged at his heartstrings forcefully.

“For real?? What about when you were a child?? And slumber parties??”

“I was trained to sleep in my own room for as far as my memory can reach. I was informed that it’s a preparation to become an independent individual for the years to come. And I’ve never had a sleepover because my father deems it as childish.”

Sudden wave of emotions hits Nijimura. Compassion, affection, sympathy, he’s not certain. But these emotions make him want to move his hand and reach for Akashi’s hand under the blankets. Nijimura chooses not to fight these emotions.

As soon as his fingertips touch the skin of Akashi’s cold hand, the latter snaps his head sideward to look at Nijimura, obviously shocked at his actions. Well, he dares to hold his hand while they’re on the same bed. So.

“N—Nijimura-san??? What are you---” he stutters. Akashi never stutters.

“Go to sleep, Akashi. I will surely let you know if you have any weird sleeping habits. I don’t judge too, unless you’re playing basketball, so you don’t need to be ashamed or anything. Feel free to be as disgraceful as you want.”

Akashi continues to stare stunned at Nijimura, and Nijimura realizes that Akashi’s hand is now shivering as he holds it on his own. He holds it tighter instinctively. After a while, Akashi is already inhaling deeply, and when he exhales Nijimura senses him releasing all the tension inside his body. The gesture makes Nijimura less tense too.

Akashi closes his eyes and squeezes back Nijimura’s hand.

“Thank you, Nijimura-san.”

“Good night, Akashi.”

Practice will start early in the morning tomorrow and as the captain, Nijimura’s aware that he should be on his top condition the instant he gets out of bed. But at the moment, he lacks the interest and willpower to go to sleep. He’s keen on his newly self-proclaimed task: to watch over Akashi sleeping, to observe if he has any sleeping habits, and if there’s any, report it the following morning to the boy sleeping next to him. He can do this much for his dutiful vice-captain.

But no matter how hard he tries to stay up, his body eventually gives up on him. He soon falls asleep too, after noting that Akashi grits his teeth a little. But then Nijimura’s own sleep proves to be shallow when he wakes up at the slight flinch of Akashi’s hand he still seems to be holding. He feels strands of hair brushing through his chin and as he opens his eyes, he sees a mop of red hair buried on his collar, and one hand curled tightly into his shirt.

He blinks away the remaining sleep in his system, squints at the boy beside him, and yes, confirmed, Akashi Seijuurou is lying on his side facing Nijimura, his head pressed against the captain’s chest, his free hand firmly grasping onto the fabric of Nijimura’s sleepwear as if he doesn’t want him to go anywhere. Nijimura’s other hand, meanwhile, is thrown over Akashi’s shoulder protectively. And there’s absolutely zero space between the two of them now.

The sight makes Nijimura fully awake almost instantly, faster than the effect of him drinking a cup of black coffee early in the morning, and he wants to move away, knows he should move away, but his mind and body betray him, his heart commands him to stay still, otherwise he’ll wake the sleeping boy up.

So Nijimura holds his breath instead (he can smell Akashi’s seemingly expensive shampoo lingering in his nostrils), stares at Akashi and thinks how the normally capable and unyielding vice-captain looks very much defenceless and innocent in his sleep. For some reason it makes Nijimura smile. Makes him feel that Akashi trusts him. Makes him feel that Akashi is still really just a child as well.

When Akashi wakes up few minutes after, Nijimura informs him that he doesn’t snore or talk in his sleep, he doesn’t move around that much either, though he does tell him that he grits his teeth. Nijimura doesn’t tell Akashi that it seems he has a habit of clinging to the person beside him while asleep (‘was it clinging or cuddling?’ Nijimura muses but whatever), because Nijimura is convinced Akashi wouldn’t just cling to random people during his sleep. Nijimura would like to believe that Akashi held onto him because the night was pretty cold. And because it’s him.

Before they leave the bedroom to head for breakfast, Nijimura hears Akashi whispering behind him something like, “Thank you, Nijimura-san. I had a good sleep. Must be the best sleep I had in years.”

When Nijimura turns around to look at Akashi, the vice-captain is already walking towards the door in hurried steps. If that’s a blush on Akashi’s cheeks, Nijimura doesn’t know.

 

**~[Friday / Intensive Care Unit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpajrunYa-I)~**

 

It’s during the third quarter of the quarter-finals game when Nijimura receives a phone call and hurriedly leaves the gymnasium right after the conversation, still reeking with sweat and wearing his #9 jersey. Akashi glances at the ex-captain but doesn’t allow it to distract him from the game.

Even without Nijimura’s presence, Teiko manages to win with no further incidents; the gap in the scores, without a doubt, is acceptable by Teiko standards.

Later Akashi learns from coach Sanada that Nijimura has been called to the hospital because something out of the ordinary seemed to have happened to his father. Akashi realizes then that on the evening Nijimura gave up his captaincy in favour of Akashi, the former captain was not exaggerating when he said he will leave in the middle of the game if something ever happens to his father.

As Akashi finishes changing back to his uniform and preparing to leave the locker room, Midorima calls out to him.

“Are you in fact going to drop by the hospital and see Nijimura-cap—Nijimura-senpai?”

Akashi smiles faintly, it has been some months since he has been promoted as captain, but the others still commit Freudian slip from time to time and call Nijimura ‘captain.’ Akashi can’t blame them, in his mind he still considers Nijimura as his captain.

“Yes, it is my duty as the captain to check on my teammates. I will see you tomorrow, Midorima.”

He bows and exits from the locker room, though he hears Midorima muttering behind him, “duty, huh…”

Much to Akashi’s relief, the hospital is just 15-minutes away from the gym where they had the game. He manages to ask his driver to drop him by the hospital because he urgently needs to visit an important senpai. It’s a lie but well, it’s not entirely a lie.

It’s easy to locate where the Nijimura family should be, the patient has just been transferred to the intensive care unit just few hours ago, one of the staffs informs Akashi. He’s convinced that hearing the news must have troubled his senpai gravely. His father being brought to the ICU… the situation is certainly much worse than Akashi has initially anticipated.

He walks along the corridor quietly until he spots a familiar figure sitting on one of the chairs outside the room. It’s Nijimura sitting limply with his arms hanging almost lifelessly on each side, his head resting on the wall as he stares at the silver plated sign attached to the room opposite him. Even from where he’s standing, Akashi knows the label reads “intensive care unit”.

Akashi observes Nijimura from afar, he has only seen Nijimura like this after a strenuous basketball game (which has just happened once so far), and hence now he’s apprehensive about how he should approach his senpai.

He looks around and it doesn’t seem Nijimura’s other family members are here. Perhaps his mother is still at work and his siblings not yet old enough to go to the hospital by themselves.

Akashi clears his throat as a start, but as expected, Nijimura is beside himself to notice Akashi’s presence.

Eventually, Akashi approaches closer and stands in front of Nijimura, the latter blinks at the sudden obstruction to the view. Akashi notes that Nijimura is looking pale, paler than when he gets tired from undergoing extreme training menu.

“Nijimura-san…” Akashi says under his breath. Now that he’s in front Nijimura, he unexpectedly doesn’t have the slightest clue about what to do or say. He can’t even begin to explain why he’s here in the first place. All he knows is that he wants to make sure that Nijimura is fine, that Nijimura is not alone. Just like how Nijimura never makes him feel alone, whether he has been doing it consciously or not.

“A—Akashi…” Nijimura’s eyes finally focus on Akashi’s face, his pupils dilating.

Akashi swallows, at this point he absolutely has no idea what to do. He cares about people, his teammates, his former captain, but comforting people has never been his strong suit. After all, all these years he thinks he has rarely needed comforting because he is strong; therefore he doesn’t know how to comfort and how to be comforted.

As they gaze at each other’s eyes intensely, Nijimura suddenly encircles his arms around Akashi’s waist, pulling him close. Akashi gasps in shock but didn’t push Nijimura away.

“I was so scared, I was so fucking scared, Akashi!” Nijimura says in between sobs, his face buried on Akashi’s stomach, and his hands are clutching the back of Akashi’s school shirt, causing some wrinkles on the latter’s otherwise perfectly ironed uniform.

He has never pictured his senpai being scared. If anything, Nijimura has always been tough and valiant, that knocking out Haizaki and flicking the others on the forehead (even Murasakibara who’s way larger than him) are two things he can do fearlessly and effortlessly.

But now Nijimura’s shoulder continues to tremble, “I thought I had to deliver a bad news to my mother and younger siblings, I thought it’s the end, I thought I could never atone for all the wrong things I’ve done against my father anymore. I thought—”

The third year stops abruptly, his voice has been replaced by his sobs, but Akashi stays quiet, allows his senpai to free all the bottled up feelings he has been probably keeping all this time, allows him to think that it is fine to put away the brave face sometimes and cry. Akashi has never been allowed to do such a thing and he remembers how much it aches, thus he’s relieved that his senpai at least has the liberty to do so.

In the end Akashi is not able to say anything, though he remains standing in front of Nijimura. Nijimura’s arms meanwhile stay wrapped on Akashi’s waist. As soon as he feels that Nijimura’s violent sobbing has ceased, he lifts his hand and places it on Nijimura’s back and caresses it gently.

Akashi thinks that in the meantime, this should be enough to lessen Nijimura’s distress even just slightly. As long as Nijimura is aware that Akashi is here for him, it’s fine. He can permit Nijimura to hold onto him today for as much as he needs to, considering that Nijimura has been generous enough to let Akashi cling onto him during the moment Akashi’s craving for any form of physical intimacy was at its peak, and it’s the best feeling Akashi has ever experienced in years.

If Akashi’s father will later ask him why his uniform is crumpled and soaked, he’ll tell him he had to rescue an abandoned kitten drenched by the afternoon rain. He just hopes that his father has been in his office the entire day and is unaware if it actually rained or not.

 

**~[Saturday / Waiting Room](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djVCoECsmVc)~**

 

The screen shows that JAL Flight 61 is delayed; apparently there has been some trouble in the airport prior to its departure hence it couldn’t fly as originally scheduled. Incidentally, Akashi took the bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo, which has arrived 20 minutes after Nijimura’s flight’s original arrival time. And now Akashi has been in Narita airport’s waiting room for around two hours already, and he has started to become quite anxious.

Akashi’s not used to waiting, in the past few years he has developed a habit of making people wait for him. But now he himself is experiencing the frustration of waiting (he makes a mental note to apologize to all the people who had to wait for him for hours during his tyrant days).

He’s waiting for Nijimura who’s coming back home from L.A. after staying there for the entirety of his high school education, and while waiting for his father to fully recover from his sickness.

He’s waiting for Nijimura whom he hasn’t seen in flesh for three years.

While Akashi didn’t hear from Nijimura during Akashi’s 3rd year in middle school up until the first few months of his 2nd year in high school, the moment Kise added Nijimura to that Teiko LINE chat group board, Akashi quickly decided that it’s the perfect chance to rekindle his relationship with his former captain (or lack thereof). He considered the fact that they used to have a good senpai-kouhai relationship back in middle school, they mutually respected each other and allowed the other to witness another’s moment of weakness and didn’t judge each other afterwards.

Akashi has also always deemed Nijimura as an admirable person, whether inside or outside the club.

Besides, he’s one of the few people close to Akashi’s heart who didn’t get the chance to witness Akashi’s other self antagonizing his former teammates. At least there’s a possibility that Nijimura will always look at him the same way, will always consider him as the Akashi who is dutiful and kind to people, kind even to strangers.

Akashi has then clicked on Nijimura’s LINE icon (Nijimura uses a picture of him scowling at the camera and Akashi thinks it’s not surprising), and shortly also clicked on the private message icon.

“It has been a while, Nijimura-san.” His first message to Nijimura from almost a year ago reads.

However, the more they communicated virtually, the more Akashi has wanted to be honest with Nijimura. He has apologized to the former captain for failing him when he clearly told Akashi in the past that he has faith in him. Nijimura, in return, has also said sorry for not being there when he needed him the most, and for putting such pressure on Akashi. Later they agreed never to talk about it again.

He has also told Nijimura everything he thinks the latter deserves to know about his current condition (and Nijimura even encourages him to never miss a therapy no matter how busy he gets), and at the same time he has confidence that Nijimura, too, has been sharing to him important things about his current life in the best way he can using electronic messages and virtual stickers. Akashi has even laughed when Nijimura revealed that he found Yosen’s former shooting guard extremely beautiful the exact moment he laid his eyes on him. Akashi can’t help but smile as well whenever Nijimura sends him a video of his siblings playing on their lawn, and Akashi has fallen in love with them since then.

It took around four months before they started communicating via call too. The first time Akashi has heard Nijimura’s voice again, it felt like a piece of his life has come back to him. He has missed that deep voice dearly. That voice which would always say “oi, Akashi!” or “you know what will happen if you lose” in a very manly tone.

Akashi, for his part, can’t remember if around when exactly in between their conversations they got to admit about having special feelings for each other since middle school. They even light-heartedly labelled that feeling as “middle school crush”. Perhaps it’s as though the confession makes no special impact now, because back then they both in fact acknowledged those unexplainable feelings, but both also chose not to act on it. They were merely kids that time.

After officially addressing that certain matter, both of them have become uncertain of what to call their current relationship. Exclusively LINE dating? But then Nijimura affirms it doesn’t matter. They will see each other again soon in person, can spend time with each other, and can confirm if they still feel the same way towards each other.

If the ‘deep connection’ is still there then good, if not, they can continue being friends. They can take their time, they assure each other.

Akashi shifts on his seat; it’s not as comfortable as he thinks it should be, though he truly prefers to wait in the arrival area’s waiting room instead of staying at the airport’s private lounge. Basically he just wants to see Nijimura the exact moment he passes through the custom’s area.

Akashi glances at his gold wristwatch, it has been three hours now.

But then he thinks it’s fine, he has waited for three years, three hours at this point is nothing.

To kill time, he decides to scroll through his phone to reread his previous chats with Nijimura. He’s excited to see him again, but at the same time he’s extremely nervous. Perhaps in the meantime he can review what he has already discussed with Nijimura previously so once they meet, he won’t needlessly bring up the same topic again and waste precious time together. Sometimes Akasi has the tendency to repeat saying the same things.

His eyes focus on the conversation they had two weeks ago.

 _Nijimura Shuuzou: can’t believe i’ll be back to japan again after three years. i’m excited as hell but at the same time i’m gonna miss my family for a while_  
_Akashi Seijuurou: I understand your parents prefer to have your sister finish her elementary school over there before moving back since it’s already the last year, is it correct?_  
_Nijimura Shuuzou: yup, you’re as smart as ever, akashi. you get everything even without me saying it haha_  
_Akashi Seijuurou: I appreciate the compliment, Nijimura-san._  
_Nijimura Shuuzou: anyway i can’t wait to see you all, i heard from tatsuya that you all have grown up to become trees_  
_Akashi Seijuurou: Perhaps he’s only talking about Murasakibara._  
_Akashi Seijuurou: And Aomine._  
_Akashi Seijuurou: And Midorima._  
_Akashi Seijuurou: And Kise._  
_Nijimura Shuuzou: fuck akashi, as expected only you and kuroko didn’t grow that much??_  
_Akashi Seijuurou: That’s not entirely true but._  
_Nijimura Shuuzou: oh well that’s ok, i didn’t grow taller that much too lol_

Akashi smiles as he stares at the message. He’s thrilled to stand next to Nijimura again and see their current height difference. Even now, he clearly remembers how tiny he used to look when standing next to Nijimura back in middle school, therefore he just compensated for such deficit by exuding a commanding presence.

He scrolls further until he reaches the last message from around sixteen hours ago.

 _Nijimura Shuuzou: i'll be boarding soon, akashi. see you._  
_Akashi Seijuurou: See you soon, Nijimura-san. I wish you a safe travel. And remember everything’s going to be fine._  
_Nijimura Shuuzou: thanks, i've done this before, i guess it’s less scary now compared to the 1st time_  
_Akashi Seijuurou: Yes, indeed. As agreed I will be waiting for you at the airport._  
_Nijimura Shuuzou: well as also agreed i will not take it against you if you decide not to show up or something, so don’t worry about it_  
_Akashi Seijuurou: There’s no reason for me not to show up. Take care, Nijimura-san. I look forward to seeing you again._  
_Nijimura Shuuzou: same here. thanks, akashi. i'm excited to see you._

The first time Akashi read that, he felt a strong urge to push the call button, so he did, but he was greeted with a busy tone. Perhaps Nijimura had already turned off his phone that time.

The second time he reads it, which is now, it automatically brings upon a grin on his face. Nijimura is excited to see him, despite everything. Akashi feels there’s nothing he should be worried about after all.

He becomes distracted from staring at his phone when a pair of sneakers and a black luggage enter his line of sight.

“Yo, obocchan.”

Hearing that voice so near him electrocutes Akashi, at least figuratively. He lifts his head as fast as humanly possible to look at its owner, and is unsurprisingly overwhelmed the moment he sees Nijimura’s face.

The face that used to scowl at him, smirk at him, smile at him, look at him with gentle eyes.

He thought way back in middle school that Nijimura looks too mature for his age, but now he thinks actual mature Nijimura is a sight to behold.

Various emotions floods Akashi instantaneously but when Nijimura says “I’m home”, silent tears just come crashing down and Akashi can’t do anything to prevent it. He doesn’t even know why he’s crying.

“Nijimura-san…!”

Nijimura is evidently surprised to see Akashi crying all of a sudden, he stares dumbfounded at his former vice-captain for some time.

But after a while, Nijimura’s lips form an upward curve, he extends his right hand to pull Akashi’s face closer to him, then plants a gentle kiss on the younger’s forehead. It’s something Akashi has never thought he needed in this lifetime.

Akashi also realizes Nijimura must be at least four inches taller than him currently, the perfect height for Nijimura to place kisses on Akashi’s forehead. Akashi decides that this gap isn’t too bad.

He greets Nijimura “welcome back home” after Nijimura dries the tears on his cheeks.

And Akashi tells himself then that the wait is absolutely worth it.

 

**~[Sunday / Bathroom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ei-WJhgp0)~**

 

When Kuroko has shown up in front of their apartment room’s door with a dog on a leash on a Friday evening, Nijimura smelled trouble.

When Kuroko has said “because Akashi-kun and Nijimura-san used to be the mother and father of Teiko, I believe both of you can be perfect parents to Nigou, too. I apologize but Kagami-kun and I will be in an out-of-town trip from this evening until Sunday. Until then, I entrust Nigou to the both of you, thank you very much” and then has probably used misdirection to vanish from their sight leaving the dog behind, Nijimura was left with his jaw hanging open. He didn’t even have the chance to pout at Kuroko and flick his forehead.

Akashi has just chuckled and muttered beside him, “Kuroko still always never fails to do unexpected things.”

Fortunately, Nijimura’s innate ability to take care of people also extends to taking care of pets. Within a few hours, he and Nigou have already gotten along better than expected.

Now it’s Sunday and in a few hours Kuroko and his boyfriend will finally return from the trip and get Nigou back. Nijimura is quite lonely.

“Oh come here, good boy,” he ruffles Nigou’s fur just like how he used to ruffle his crazy kouhais’ heads.

“Oooh you kinda smell funny now, huh. What do you say if I give you a bath, I’m sure Kuroko and Tatsuya’s brother would be pleased to meet a newly-bathed Nigou later, right?”

Nijimura stands up and walks toward the bathroom, Nigou following him behind.

“Sei, I’m coming in.”

He opens the bathroom door and sees Akashi relaxing in the tub (though he knows he’s not really relaxing, he might actually be experiencing some form of existential crisis while having a bath, Nijimura will never know). It’s one of the things Nijimura likes best about his relationship with Akashi. They are both fine with leaving the bathroom door open whenever someone is having a bath, just in case the other feels like joining in.

Akashi tilts his head to look at Nijimura, his face flushed, “Would you like to join me, Shuuzou?”  
  
Nijimura enters the bathroom and gradually takes off his shirt and pants, “Ah no, I will give Nigou a bath.”

Akashi blinks at him, “huh…?”

Nijimura is now completely naked; he and Akashi are at the point of their relationship now where it’s normal to see each other naked. They got used to it back in Teiko basketball gym’s changing room, and have gotten more used to it when they’ve started making love around two years ago (when Nijimura was in his last year in uni).

He throws his clothes into the laundry basket along with his underwear, grabs the stool next to the tub, reaches for the shampoo, and motions to Nigou to come near him, “Come, let’s go.”

He’s aware that Akashi is staring at the back of his head in utter confusion.

“Uhm… Shuuzou…?”

“Ah, don’t mind us and enjoy your bath, Akashi-sama, the bathroom is wide enough to house us three, we can even fit six more dogs here.”

“That’s not the point. I mean, why are you suddenly keen on giving Nigou a bath?”

As soon as Nigou makes his way in, Nijimura closes the door and gives Akashi a sheepish smile.

“Well I guess he deserves a good bath after being such a good boy, right?” he says just to tease Akashi. He knows Akashi’s not very fond of dogs because dogs don’t obey him as much as they should, or so Akashi says.

“And you think that’s an adequate reason to spend your time and energy giving him a bath, rather than joining me here, your boyfriend, in the tub?” Akashi replies, his tone playful.

“You’re jealous of a dog, that’s cute,” Nijimura says as he turns the shower on and gently grabs Nigou and places him under the sprinkler. To his surprise, the dog is not resisting and seems to be enjoying the water.

“Oh, nice, when was the last time that brat Kuroko gave you a bath, huh?”

He’s carding through Nigou’s wet fur, trying to put shampoo on the dog when he hears Akashi clears his throat.

“I must admit…” Akashi starts saying and Nijimura transfers his attention to him.

“Hnn??”

“I’ve never predicted that you being naked and giving a bath to a dog is the most endearing sight I will ever see in my entire life, Shuuzou.”

“Wah--!” Nijimura automatically blushes upon hearing that, he’s kind of thankful that only a dog is currently present to hear Akashi saying embarrassing things to him.

“Shit, Sei, don’t distract me when I’m trying to do an act of kindness here!” he groans, his upper lip has already formed a pout as expected.

Akashi smiles sweetly at him in return, “I just said you are very cute, Shuuzou.”

Akashi stands up from the tub and walks toward him and Nigou. This makes Nijimura stare wide-eyed at Akashi and thinks that no, he’s not yet used to seeing Akashi naked. It still overwhelms him every time he lays his eyes on Akashi’s smooth skin and fine muscles. It overwhelms him that this perfect person is his lover now, has been for years.

He gulps and tries not to blatantly show how Akashi can completely sweep him off his feet even without trying.

“Uh… you’re done?”

“No, I just had the unexplainable inclination to join Nigou and you in your bath.”

Akashi grabs the other stool and sits close to Nijimura.

“Oh, careful, you’ll get shampoo all over your body when Nigou wiggles around.”

“I don’t mind,” Akashi says as he snatches the bottle of shampoo from Nijimura.

Nijimura remains clueless of Akashi’s intentions, until he sees him squeezing shampoo on both of his hands, then reaches towards Njiimura’s head and starts massaging his scalp.

The fondness Nijimura rapidly feels almost pains his chest, he wonders for a while if this is how it would feel like in case his ass gets bitten by Nigou right at this very moment.

“I can give you a bath while you give Nigou a bath. I cannot permit Kuroko’s dog to be more well-groomed than my boyfriend,” Akashi declares, his tone indicating Nijimura should take him seriously.

Nijimura can’t think of a witty comeback to that so he just pulls Akashi’s neck closer to his face and engulfs the redhead’s mouth with his own. Akashi then jolts in shock, his hands stopping all their movement. Nijmura likes taking Akashi by surprise (it’s not fair if only Akashi would amaze him each time), so he revels in Akashi’s complete moment of bewilderment and puts more passion into the originally sloppy kiss.

Akashi appears to have gathered himself a few seconds later and soon he’s moving his arms to snake them around Nijimura’s neck, closes his eyes and kisses Nijimura back. The water from the shower continues to drench them and Nijimura can almost feel some of the water from his hair dripping down towards his mouth (or Akashi’s mouth, he’s not sure), but he can never pull away once he starts kissing Akashi. Especially now that Akashi is naked, his fair skin wet.

They only break the kiss when Nigou barks at them, demanding attention.

Nijimura’s heart is beating so fast, he can’t even bring himself to reprimand Nigou for interrupting him and Akashi.

After a few seconds, he holds Akashi’s hand and almost brings it to his lips until he realizes it still has bubbles on it.

“Would you like us to adopt a dog, too, Sei?”

Akashi just smiles at him, looking content, “I’d rather adopt a cat, Shuuzou. I don’t think a cat will deliberately interrupt us if it sees us kissing under the shower. Cats don’t even like baths.”

Nijimura just laughs and glances at Nigou, “I guess that means Sei’s not pleased with you, Nigou. Don’t worry, I still like you, and you can come visit again anytime, though I’ll have to tell Kuroko to give you a bath beforehand.”

In the end, Nijimura has to shampoo both Akashi and Nigou. And later Kuroko scolds him for using human shampoo on his pet.

And for this Nijimura tells Akashi that he agrees with him, they should definitely get a cat instead.

**Author's Note:**

> (Maybe you've heard of People In The Box, they sang Tokyo Ghoul's 1st ending song, "Seijatachi.")
> 
> I hope you like it! Reviews will be appreciated~ *-*


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